Guest Post by Michael Kelley – How I Converted My Garage into a Tiny Home for $6k
We live in a 600 square foot cottage in Ely, NV. We have plenty of space for everything except parties and overnight guests.
Our solution was to convert our humble stand alone garage into a party room/casita. Our home and casita project have been furnished and decorated from yard sales and hand-me-downs from friends.
The casita is approximately 380 square feet and features a separate sleeping area and a bathroom with shower. We wanted an industrial look so we used corrugated metal on about half of the interior walls.
A tool chest serves as a kitchen cabinet with drawers. All of the “kitsch” on the walls was obtained for less than $500.00. We did a lot of the labor but did use a contractor for the plumbing and electoral work.
An evaporative cooler provides cooling and space heaters are used for heat. A coffee pot, toaster, and an induction burner have been sufficient for our guests cooking needs. The remaining garage space is just large enough to house our golf cart.
Man Turns Garage into Tiny Home for $6k
Images © Michael Kelley
Below is a shot of reclaimed corrugated metal I used to dress up the side of the casita. The plates cover up my ragged cuts/edges.
Images © Michael Kelley
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Alex
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I know it’s a garage, but the amount of clutter turns me off.
Ditto here. I can’t even seen what they did to the garage as far as “conversion” because of all the “collectibles.” A floor plan would be nice. Otherwise, the photos do not really convey much about a conversion, just way too much flea market. The license plates were a nice save, but otherwise, I don’t know how guests could find anything. Sorry.
… and me too, but yep, Comet seems to think we are “haters” when, well all we are doing is expressing “our” opinion.
Opinion btw Comet, is someone’s perspective of something. It is NOT hating, although it can be. Nothing I’ve seen written on these pages has been “hating.” Perhaps you need to chill out a little more, just because you like something and someone else doesn’t, well you don’t need to fly off the handle over it.
Well haters gotta hate—
I LOVE IT!!!!
The license plates are an amazing idea! And all of the neat stuff inside==-yeah I would like to see more room layout pics but the guy never said he was a designer and you can pretty much imagine a rectangle with a bathroom and a bedroom and a corner kitchen.
There I fixed it for you.
PS we have had good success cutting metal with our large air compresser and metal “shears” (ours are from Harbor Freight) if you are going to do more of this investing in a pair might come in handy. The ones we got were a close out but they are not expensive. And I think they still sell them.
When can I come visit????
Comet, kindly do not put words in my mouth, or presume to “fix things” for people you’ve got the brass to call haters. I’m a scavenger myself, and usually like kitschy and crowded cottages, but this one just didn’t work FOR ME, or Martha, or Paul. Per your comment, yes, it is obvious he is not a designer, but it suits him. I don’t care, I don’t plan to visit. The problem is, the photos don’t show any of his “building.” Regardless of your input about the presumed floor plan, I would like to know how HE enclosed and arranged things, since he said he also room for a golf cart (separate room? What’s the door lead to? Where’s the bathroom compared to bedroom? Any insulation anywhere?) These are questions you can’t answer, but yet condemn other people as haters just because we bring it up?
I think you did a fantastic job too. My personal taste tends to lean toward minimalist design… but I can still really appreciate your design aesthetic and how much you accomplished with a mere $500. So impressive. And I love the tool chest for the kitchen cabinet and drawers… very clever!
I enjoy this website very much and thank Alex for letting me participate. In response to some the comments I would respond as follows: My intentions were to have a space for my wife’s card parties, hence the large table in the middle of the room, and I wanted a nice place for overnight guest to sleep. We accomplished that. We don’t take ourselves too seriously and thought it whimsical to flood the walls with stuff. We are not trying to win a design contest, but we are trying to enjoy the simpler things in life. Our yard sale scavenging has provided countless hours of fun. All visitors, 100%, that have seen our place have smiled from ear to ear. In my mind, that is mission accomplished.
After Alex emailed me the news that we were going to be posted on his site, I tried submitting some additional photos and a video. Unfortunately, I made a technical or typing error and my emails were returned as undeliverable. Sorry about that. As far as taste goes I don’t have much. If a bicycle rim inside a peach basket suspending doodads found in the desert with a light in it to make a chandelier that is hung using belts and a hockey stick is not your cup of tea, what can I say?
Thanks Michael. I’ll check my emails to see if I can find more photos. If you send them over again I’d be glad to add them to the post. Otherwise- don’t worry about folks complaining. We can’t please them all ya know.
I’m just really grateful that you shared what you have 🙂
I am not tech savvy and couldn’t figure out how to attach photos to this comment section. So if anyone (not likely), wants any info or better pictures I would be happy to respond. Thanks, Michael
[email protected]
Micahel if you send them to me with a link to this post (https://tinyhousetalk.com/man-turns-garage-to-tiny-home-6k/) I can easily add them for all to see 🙂
My email is alex at tiny house talk dot com